Research Foundation News

September 18, 2018

Standing on their own: Purdue body support device helps people learn to walk again after a stroke, trauma

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – A Purdue University researcher with a passion to use engineering technology to improve health care has created a weight support system to help people suffering from walking disabilities after a stroke. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says about 795,000 people in the United States have a stroke each year, and it is the leading cause of disability in older adults.

The Purdue team created an alternative to traditional gait rehabilitation training, an important part of retraining the legs for proper walking after a stroke or trauma.

“We applied our engineering expertise to create a better device for people learning to walk again,” said Xiumin Diao, an assistant professor in Purdue’s School of Engineering Technology.

The cable-driven body weight support system helps support walking training across all three dimensions, not just in the vertical direction like many current options.

Purdue’s weight support system uses thin, strong cables attached to a manipulator that secures around the patient in a fashion similar to a parachuting harness. The system compensates for any amount of a person’s body weight in all three dimensions as they learn to retrain their legs for proper walking.

“This is a much more responsive system,” Diao said. “We provide increased support based on the fact that normal walking undergoes 3D motion. Our body weight support system eases the burden on the patient. Given its economical features, it may one day provide support for low-income patients who may not have the resources for current training.”

Diao said the Purdue system is easier to reconfigure than traditional training systems and provides a lower equipment cost. He said the system is also easier to put together and take apart and provides a larger training space than current systems on the market.

The technology aligns with Purdue's "giant leaps" celebration of the university’s global advancements made in health, space, artificial intelligence and sustainability as part of Purdue’s 150th anniversary. Those are the four themes of the yearlong celebration’s Ideas Festival, designed to showcase Purdue as an intellectual center solving real-world issues.

The team is working with the Purdue Office of Technology Commercialization to patent the technology. The researchers are looking for partners to continue developing their system. 

About Purdue Office of Technology Commercialization

The Purdue Office of Technology Commercialization operates one of the most comprehensive technology transfer programs among leading research universities in the U.S. Services provided by this office support the economic development initiatives of Purdue University and benefit the university's academic activities. The office is managed by the Purdue Research Foundation, which received the 2016 Innovation and Economic Prosperity Universities Award for Innovation from the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. For more information about funding and investment opportunities in startups based on a Purdue innovation, contact the Purdue Foundry at foundry@prf.org. For more information on licensing a Purdue innovation, contact the Office of Technology Commercialization at otcip@prf.org. The Purdue Research Foundation is a private, nonprofit foundation created to advance the mission of Purdue University.         

Writer: Chris Adam, 765-588-3341, cladam@prf.org

Source:
Xiumin Diao, diaox@purdue.edu


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